Members jcameronk2 Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Whenever i play my strat when i touch the pickup height adjustment screws i hear a popping noise through my amp. It's only the bottom screws where my fingers brush up against them. It doesn't happen when i hit the top set of screws for pup height, or bridge, or the pole pieces, etc... ONLY when you brush the bottom pup height screws. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jcameronk2 Posted January 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 nada? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pope on a Rope Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Are you sure it's the screws and not static from the pickguard. When the air is particularly dry, a plastic pickguard can hold a static charge and will snap, crackle and pop when you touch it while playing. It's annoying as hell. My Tele has several strips of electrical tape stuck on it's pickgaurd to prevent static noises while playing. It looks ugly but it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vintage55 Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 It's static electricity. A simple cure is to get some of those anti-static things you throw in your clothes dryer and wipe it on the pickguard and the screws. It'll go away for awhile. Repeat as needed... Your guitar will smell all nice and fresh too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitslinger Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Whenever i play my strat when i touch the pickup height adjustment screws i hear a popping noise through my amp. It's only the bottom screws where my fingers brush up against them. It doesn't happen when i hit the top set of screws for pup height, or bridge, or the pole pieces, etc... ONLY when you brush the bottom pup height screws. Any ideas? I had the same problem with some Dimarzio Area pickups. Anytime a pickup is housed in plastic, the adjustment screws will probably not be grounded, which allows static to move from the pick guard into the magnetic field via the screw. To solve the problem I used thin strips of copper shielding tape and ran them on the underside of the pick guard over the holes for the adjustment screws. The idea is to have the screws pass through the tape, and have the screw springs rest on it. I used strips that are 1/4" wide. The bottom strip has to extend far enough to touch the aluminum shielding under the pots, which establishes a ground circuit. If a strip is used on the upper row of screws, a short strip has to be used to connect the upper and lower strips together to complete the circuit. Of course, if you completely shield the pick guard and cavities that will also cure the problem, but I don't care for the sound of full shielding, and my method takes only a few minutes without having to disassemble the electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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